My Goal of Finding an Agent

My new goal for this next couple weeks is to find an Agent and send a submission to that person. I do have an agent in mind, although I won't be mentioning the person's name here presently.

Basically, I plan on sending this agent an unsolicited query, as per the company's submission requirements. I hope I get this right, as I've never submitted to an agent before.

Their guidelines say that I should hear from them in a few weeks, so I'm hoping that I can have everything ready to go by the beginning of next week, and in the mail shortly thereafter. I will keep you all updated as to my progress.

One thing I can tell you all about this agency is that it is a reputable one, that I found at P&E. I hope they enjoy my work.


Talk to you all later.


Sean D. Schaffer

Thank you kindly for the well-wishing, Tori. I appreciate it very much.

Thanks Anne!

triceretops said:

Glad you're on the submission trail now, Sean. Hang on tight. I'm also there with two finished books.

Tri

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Will do, Tri. I won't take the easy way out like I did with Wyverinia Chronicles. That was the biggest mistake I ever made with a manuscript, and I never want to make it again.

Of course, now I have two things I didn't have back then: Patience and Perseverence. With these two qualities, almost anything is possible. Without them....well, I'm sure we both know what happens when we don't have those qualities.

Merry Christmas to you, Tri, and a Happy New Year as well.

Update on my first query

Hello!

I've finally taken the time to write out my cover letter and prepare my first chapter for mailing. All I have to do now is go to the post office and purchase a manila envelope that I can print out the addresses for both myself and the agency I'm sending my work to. Then, all I will have to do is mail it off. This should take part of the day tomorrow, and I should have it mailed off no later than Thursday because I have an appointment tomorrow afternoon with someone up at Mental Health.

I thought you'd all like to know about that, as it looks like my first goal of having this mailed off by the end of this week will indeed be fulfilled.


I'll talk to you all later, and have yourselves a great week.

September skies said:

Way to go! you're almost there. If you have a chance to do it tomorrow though, just do it and get it over with. I had a query I meant to mail off once and I waited a day and then somehow -- even though it was all ready -- it took me another month to finally do it. Good luck to you!!

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Wow! With that in mind, I think I will try to get it in the mail tomorrow. I don't want to have to wait extra time just because of my procrastination.

Thanks for the advice; I appreciate it very much.

Update on Query Mailing.....

Well, I have a problem.

Yesterday, I went over to the post office and bought a single manila envelope with which to mail my query and first chapter to the agent. I made the mistake of trying to print the addresses directly onto the envelope.

Because of the way the printer was set up, it refused to print the envelope as a landscape document, and I had to chuck it. So today, I have to go to the grocery store and get some manila envelopes as well as some labels. I plan on printing the addresses on the labels and hopefully being able to send the query out later today.

I hate these little snags, but at least that's the only problem I've had yesterday and today. I know that it could be much worse than it is.

Anyway, I thought you should all know about that, and when I get the query mailed off, I plan on updating you again with the good news.


I'll talk to you all later, and I hope you have a good morning.

Well, that was easy....

I finally sent the query out today, which is a good thing. Wednesday I had bought a single envelope and tried to print out the addresses on it to make it look real nice, but the printer refused to do the job properly and that set me back a couple days.

But today I bought several envelopes and some mailing labels, and now the old query is off to the agency. I have to wait roughly eight weeks to hear from them, which I'm sure is going to be loads of fun.

One thing I noticed: they didn't say anything on their site about simultaneous submissions. I wonder if that means I should try to send a similar query to another agent while waiting on this one? I've seen it done with publishers, but I've never submitted anything to an agent before, so I don't know what all to expect or what to do in this case.

In any case, I have sent it off and it should be there soon. I'll talk to you all later, and have yourselves a Happy New Year.

Oh, goody! Another update!

Well, I've decided to submit to a second agency simultaneously to the first one. This one was done electronically, and I made sure that it was a good company according to P&E.

I have a couple other names and addresses that I still have to write to, one for submission requirements and one to query with a proposal (I think that's how it works.)

Anyway, if anyone has any suggestions as to how I can do even better with the submission process, please let me know. I am always looking for ways to improve myself in the business of writing, not just the craft of writing.

Thanks.

triceretops said:

Sean, you go for it. Submit as many queries as you like to agents. Personalize each and every one a little different. Study their websites and find out their personal likes and dislikes, and it doesn't hurt to give a short comment.

I just got my agent on Christmas day. Okay, Sean...you're next. Be prepared for waits and do NOT get discouraged. Okay, buddy? I'm watching and ready to help.

Tri

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Thanks Tri. I appreciate it.

Man, what a Christmas Present! That's awesome.

I got so busy with this new blog of mine....

....That I completely forgot about my agent queries!

I still have a couple good agencies to send submission guidelines requests to, so I guess I'd best get cracking!

Also, I plan on going to P&E today and getting more names, this time with just 'Recommended' by their names. I found out recently that it's always good to send to more than one agent at a time, because the process is extremely slow doing it one-at-a-time.

So that's my new goal for the next few days. I'm going to try for five to ten (preferrably the latter number) queries within the next week.

I'll talk to you all later, and I hope you all have a great morning.

List of agents for you

I have a list of about 300 agents with addresses and email addresses. If you would like a copy just email me
author at BrianHillAndDeePower.com

This goes for anybody, not just Sean.

Dee

DeePower said:

I have a list of about 300 agents with addresses and email addresses. If you would like a copy just email me
author at BrianHillAndDeePower.com

This goes for anybody, not just Sean.

Dee

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Thanks, Dee! That's very nice of you; I highly appreciate it.

BJ Bourg said:

Sean,

Hi. I'm BJ Bourg and I'm usually over at the Stories of Strength section. I saw your post about submitting to an agent and wanted to wish you good luck. I'm waiting on a response from my very first agent query, as well. Fingers are crossed, but it's four weeks into an eight week wait and I'm going nuts.

I wish you much success!

bjb

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Thanks, BJ. I hope you hear from the agent you queried soon. Good luck to you, as well.

Well, I've written out the submission requirements requests, and all I have to do is mail them, which I plan on doing tomorrow.

I still have to date them and do their envelopes. I'll be sure to let you all know when I've actually done the mailings.


Talk to you all later, and have a great week ahead!

Update on Agent Submissions Progress....

Good afternoon everyone!

Today I received, in my email box, a rejection letter from one of the agencies I submitted to last week.

The editorial intern who wrote the letter was very kind. The intern not only wished me luck in my continued search for an agency; they also invited me to submit any future works I have to their company for possible representation.

In other words, they treated me very well. I am nothing but pleased because of their kind words.


I'm a bit ill on the mental side this afternoon, so I won't be mailing those two submission requirements requests today. I want to be sure that I can get the proper medications back in my system so that I can act like a real human being instead of a monster in public, so I've decided to stay home until such time as I can get hold of the said medications.


But as hard as it might be to believe, the rejection letter brightened my day. It's good to know that the business I'm in is willing to look at the works of yet-aspiring writers such as myself, and to treat them with the same dignity and respect they would any writer.